What is the closest thing to steroids?

The answer is simple Human Growth Hormone.

Let’s talk about Human Growth Hormone …

WHAT IS GROWTH HORMONE?

Growth Hormone, Somatotropin or simply GH, is a peptide hormone produced by the pituitary gland, an endocrine gland located at the base of the skull.

Its synthesis and release is regulated in turn by two hormones (both produced by the hypothalamus):

Somatotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates the production and release of hGH, and Somatostatin has the opposite effect, that is, it inhibits the release of hGH (growth hormone).

Under physiological conditions, growth hormone has a pulsatile secretion, that is, it is released at different times of the day and not constantly, with a higher release peak during the night hours.

Once present in the bloodstream, it stimulates the liver to produce insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), and this hormone triggers the growth and repair of bones and body tissues, including muscle, skin, organs and more.

In the middle of the 20th century, scientists began to harvest GH from the pituitary glands of cadavers, and it was not until the 1980s that the first GH was synthesized in laboratories, used since then as a drug to treat cases of deficiency. , or to improve physical performance.

HOW DOES GROWTH HORMONE ACT IN THE NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BODY?

As can be deduced from its name, it is a fundamental peptide for development, since it allows the growth of the child. And not only this, in addition to growth in height, it is also responsible for the development of genitalia and facial features.

In childhood, its secretion increases until the child reaches the maximum age of puberty.

Unfortunately, our body reaches its maximum level of Growth Hormone secretion during adolescence and early adulthood, after which it begins to slowly decline.

By the time we’re past 30, Human Growth Hormone levels start to drop much faster from this point.

Effects of Growth Hormone

Over time this leads to some unsightly byproducts related to aging, such as more body fat, less muscle mass, decreased bone density, poorer looking skin, fatigue, and decreased brain function.

HOW TO STIMULATE THE NATURAL RELEASE OF GROWTH HORMONE?

There is only one natural way to stimulate the natural release of Somatotropin, well two if we take into account the indirect way that follows from the first.

GH RELEASE THROUGH TRAINING

Normally an adult has blood values ranging from 1 to 5 ng/ml under resting conditions. But these values can naturally increase up to 10 times after intense physical activity.

Different studies have shown that the greatest secretion of this hormone occurs during periods in which anaerobic glycolysis is high and therefore lactate production is also high.

This means that the more lactic acid produced, the more growth hormone available. Intense activities like bodybuilding can lead to a real increase in growth hormone.

Now, do not flatter yourself, it should be noted that a well-trained athlete, however, produces less growth hormone than a sedentary person who has just started training, this is due to the famous concept of the body’s adaptability.

In other words, if you have been training for a while, the hormone you release into your bloodstream will be less than the one released by a person who has just spent their first weeks in the GYM.

In addition, with the same physical effort, the secretion is greater in women than in men, and in younger people than in adults and, as I mentioned before, in more sedentary people than in athletes.

One point to keep in mind is that if you exercise in a short amount of time after eating, that is, if you train after eating, you will experience a reduction in the potential amount of GH released.

GH RELEASE AT SLEEP

The other moment in which GH is released is when we sleep, when we sleep our body releases Growth Hormone, giving great importance to the fact of resting after heavy training.

In this way, our body will begin the process of repairing the tissues affected by training.

As you can imagine, these are the two recommended ways to make our body synthesize and release growth hormone. But following the focus of the article… What about the exogenous administration of Somatotropin?

EXOGENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF GROWTH HORMONE IN BODYBUILDERS

Within the world of bodybuilding there are countless substances, legal or not, to achieve rapid and considerable increases in muscle mass. One type of these products are hormones, and one of them that enjoys a lot of popularity is growth hormone, or HGH. Once it reaches the adult stage, its function is to preserve muscle mass, collaborate with the immune system and form part of the regulation of our fat metabolism, in addition to having effects on the health of the skin and eyes. The highest level is reached during the adolescent stage and once over thirty it begins to decline, this fact is what has the consequences of increased fat when over this age, less muscle gain, that the bones become less dense and therefore therefore more fragile, that intellectual capacity and performance is diminished, that sexual performance decreases and, in general, that the feeling of tiredness or fatigue is more common than at younger ages.

The pituitary gland releases growth hormone during sleep, especially during deep sleep, and during intense exercise. Once released, its life is very short, about half an hour, in which it is transported to the liver and other areas, where, once there, it causes them to secrete another hormone called Insulin Growth Factor (IGF-1), who’s the effects it produces are bone growth, favoring the absorption of amino acids and protein synthesis in the muscles.

All this is what happens naturally in any human, however, there is injectable growth hormone on the market that allows increasing the amount of it in the body. It is a powder that is injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly mixed with bacteriostatic water (sterilized water with benzyl alcohol). It is a substance that is very sensitive to both light and temperature, its range being suitable for storage and handling between 2 and 8 degrees.

The duration of a cycle of growth hormone can be extended for several months, injecting it once or twice a day, it being recommended to administer one injection in the morning, since the body will have released a good amount during the night, and the other in the early afternoon.

SIDE EFFECTS OF EXOGENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF GROWTH HORMONE?

Based on what we have been seeing, I can only say that the benefits of exogenous administration of growth hormone are not even comparable to the side effects produced.

Side effects of exogenous administration include (source):

⦁ Pain in nerves, muscles and joints.
⦁ Swelling due to extra fluid in the body tissues (edema).
⦁ Carpal tunnel syndrome.
⦁ Numbness and tingling in the skin.
⦁ Muscular weakness.
⦁ High Level of Cholesterol.
⦁ Cardiovascular risk.
⦁ Neurodegenerative diseases.
⦁ Thyroid disorders.
⦁ Diabetes
⦁ Tumors.

Unfortunately, since there is such a large market willing to acquire it, there are many counterfeit products where the risk of adverse effects on health is much greater.

Keep in mind that the cost of producing the hormone is very high since recombinant DNA techniques are used to produce it. So to be sure of what you buy, take into account the price, the means through which you get it (it must be through pharmacies) and the laboratory that produces it.

CONCLUSION ON GROWTH HORMONE

There are few controlled studies on the efficacy of GH on high-level athlete performance. In general, these studies have been done with doses above physiological levels, but not with the large amounts claimed by bodybuilders who claim to use it.

The results of most of these controlled studies are generally less impressive than the claims of abusers of this hormone.